Pretoria - The Austin Roberts Memorial Bird Sanctuary has had the most important part of its identity restored.
The facility is whole again, once more becoming home to two of South Africa’s national birds.
For four years the sanctuary and the Blue Crane Restaurant had not been the same after the death of a pair of the blue cranes housed there.
Johan Billman, co-owner and manager of the Blue Crane Restaurant and Bar next to the sanctuary, said the birds used to be a huge international tourist attraction for people visiting the area looking to get a glimpse of the national icon.
“They were the most talked about thing because the blue cranes are quite vocal and it’s beautiful when they start making their sounds.”
However, after the death of one of the birds, the restaurant and the area felt the absence of the memorial’s biggest attraction.
He said they then opted to assist the sanctuary to be restored to its former glory by acquiring birds for the sanctuary named after South Africa's greatest ornithologist, J Austin Roberts.
Billman said they organised a number of initiatives to raise the funds and finally acquired the birds for donation to the Tshwane Nature Conservation Department.
Hencke Marais, part of the Tshwane Nature Conservation Specialist Services, said it took two months to get birds into the sanctuary because they are a critically endangered species and had to undergo a thorough check-up and procedures to make sure the opportunity for smugglers and poachers was reduced.
In the rainy weather, which according to specialists is their preferred weather, the two birds took little time walking out of their pen and even interacting with other birds within the first few minutes out in the sanctuary.
“We do a soft release where they walk out of the unit and that would make them more relaxed. Soon enough those visiting the sanctuary or the restaurant get a glimpse of the birds.”
Tshwane group head for environment Abel Malaka thanked the restaurant for partnering with the City in preservation of endangered species.
Malaka said the success of the birds’ release also proved that working together as different stakeholders might yield good results going forward.
The bird sanctuary, located in the Walker Spruit open space was officially proclaimed as a nature reserve on February 26, 1985.
It attracts water birds such as Egyptian geese, white-breasted cormorants, hadeda ibis and the crowned crane.
Pretoria News